


Match Made

by heartlines



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, Online Dating, Skye plays matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-04-01 01:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4001392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartlines/pseuds/heartlines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz's mum forces him to find a date and Jemma's roommate makes an online dating profile behind her back. Little did they know that they'd find their perfect match.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Match Made

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as Tumblr drabble to fulfill this prompt: I signed up for a dating website to get my mom off my back au. But it turned into an 8k word fic. Whoops. So I guess I'll post it here instead.

Even as he typed in his information, Fitz was absolutely sure that it was a complete waste of time.

Favorite books? He typed in a series of texts on Quantum Physics and Mechanical Engineering that even most of his colleagues at M.I.T. hadn’t read. He leaned back on his seat and thought for a minute, then decided to tack on some of his favorite Science Fiction novels just to be whimsical.

Favorite TV shows? _Doctor Who_ , of course. He tried to think of more but he didn’t really watch a lot of TV. _Top Gear_ , he typed. He liked having it on in the background while he read articles. _Mythbusters_. He quite enjoyed that one.

What do you normally do on a Friday night? Fitz scoffed. Normally he drank beer and tinkered on whatever project he was allowed to bring home from work. Or he worked on a side project of his own. Or he’d be writing up some of his research. This particular Friday night, however, he was answering inane questions on a dating website. He sighed and left the question blank.

He filled in some of the informational stats: age, height, education, etc…leaving blank whatever information he deemed too personal or unnecessary, and then he hit the submit button. It was done. He, Leopold Fitz, had a dating profile. He took a long swig from his beer bottle. Maybe he should have broken out the scotch for this.

Fitz had a plan. He would find his highest match that was reasonably attractive (though you never can be sure on the Internet), message her for a date, hope she says yes, watch it blow up spectacularly in his face if she does, then he can call it a job done and delete the damn profile. His mum will have to be satisfied that he’d gone on one date. It was all she asked of him, after all. She didn’t say that it had to be a successful date.

_“Have you met a nice girl yet, Leo?”_

_Fitz held in an audible groan. He had just finished telling her about the latest paper he had published and how he might get chosen to present it at a conference in Geneva but of course all she cared about was the fact that he still didn’t have a girlfriend._

_“No, mum, I haven’t met anyone. My options are quite limited when I spend all my time in the lab. You know, doing important work. Changing the face of Science and Technology, winning awards…”_

_“Oh, sweetheart, you know I’m very proud of you and all that you’ve accomplished but tell me, do those awards keep you warm at night?”_

_This time he did groan. “Mum!”_

_“You aren’t getting any younger, Leo. You might think you have all the time in the world but if you let yourself get so caught up in work, you might look up one day and realize how much of life has passed you by.”_

_“I’m twenty-five, mum. I don’t think it’s time to start ordering my wheelchair yet.”_

_“When was the last time you had a girlfriend?”_

_“You know when, mum. Five years ago. Veronica? Remember? You hated her.”_

_His mum clucked her tongue. “She was all wrong for you. I don’t know what you saw in her.”_

_Considering that she had only used him to get her name on an important paper and subsequently broken his heart when she had gotten what she wanted, Fitz couldn’t remember what he saw in her either._

_“When was the last time you went on a date then?” She asked._

_Fitz was about to retort but paused. He actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date. He vaguely recalled Hunter trying to set him up with one of his ex’s friends some months ago but he’d vehemently refused to go on a blind date._

_His mum made a satisfied sound on the other end of the line. “I thought so.”_

_“I don’t have ti-”_

_“I’ll make you a deal, Leo,” his mum said over him. “Go on a date this week. Just one date. Whether it goes well or not, I promise that I will leave you alone and not ask about your love life for a month.”_

_“Six months,” he said._

_“Two months.”_

_“Five months.”_

_“Two and half.”_

_“Four,” he countered._

_“Three.”_

_“Four,” he tried again._

_“Three months.” His mum said firmly and Fitz knew she would no longer budge._

_He sighed. “Fine.”_

_“I know you hate me pestering you about this but I do it because I’m worried about you, Leo.”_

_“You don’t have anything to worry about, mum,” he said._

_“I hate the thought of you being all alone over there. And I know you have your work and your friends and all of that makes you happy. But I remember what it was like before I found Richard. I remember the loneliness that I know you’ll never admit to feeling. I just want you to find your perfect companion in life and you won’t do it if you keep yourself closed off.”_

_“Mum…” He sighed. He never felt comfortable with these serious, emotional talks. “I’ll try, I promise.”_

_“Good!” She said brightly. “Oh, and Leo? That date doesn’t have to be with a girl if that’s not what you’re into.”_

_His eyes widened. Did she really just?_

_“Mum!” He almost yelled._

_“It’s perfectly okay if you like men…”_

_“I’m not gay, mum!”_

_“Oh, alright then. I just wondered. It has been awhile since you’ve talked about any girl and all your friends are male. I thought maybe there was something you weren’t telling me.”_

_Fitz’s mouth opened and closed in what he was sure was a hilarious expression of a stranded-on-land fish. “I’m an engineer, mum! Most of the people in my department are men. Of course they’re my only friends.”_

_It wasn’t exactly fair that the men to women ratio in the Engineering and Physics departments were so off balance and he knew steps were being taken to try and change that but right now, it was still the reality. And Fitz had trouble talking to people in general but his social awkwardness only tripled around members of the opposite sex._

_“Alright, dear. I just wanted you to know that I support you either way.”_

_“Yeah, thanks, mum.”_

_“Bye, Leo. I love you.”_

_“Love you too.”_

_“Why don’t you try a dating website? I heard that those are the fad these days.”_

_“Bye mum,” he said firmly._

He hadn’t wanted to take his mother’s suggestion of a dating website. But considering that his options at the University were rather limited, most of his female colleagues were married or otherwise spoken for and grad students were off limits for a multitude of reasons, it was either a dating website or asking Hunter and Mack to set him up. At least on a dating website he had some control over which woman he’d choose to date and he could always delete his profile. Hunter and Mack would never let him live it down if he came crawling to them.

He scrolled through the women listed as his highest match and lived in the Cambridge area. There was a 99% match that caught his eye and he clicked on her profile. Her name was Jemma Simmons and she was very pretty. He scrolled down through her photos. She had brown hair and brown eyes but it was her smile that caught his attention. Her smile was so wide and so bright that he felt like it could light up any room that she walked into. She had a lab coat on in the last picture and was holding up a test tube and a beaker in what was clearly a chemistry lab. She was a scientist.

Fitz sat up, his full attention on the screen in front of him now. He read through her profile and discovered that she was a professor and a researcher at Harvard. She had doctorate degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology. He wondered why he’d never heard of her. Biology and Chemistry weren’t his fields of expertise or particular interest but he did try to keep up with the science community as a whole.

Wait…Simmons. He remembered that name. Fitz pulled up a different tab and typed her name into a search engine. It took a few minutes of searching but he found some of her published papers. He skimmed through the titles until he saw one that looked familiar. It was about neurotoxins and he was sure he had read it before. He read the first few sentences and yes, he remembered reading this paper and finding it brilliant. He should have taken note of who the author was and researched them but he must have gotten distracted. Fitz ran a hand through his hair and tried to think back on when had read this paper six months ago. He was working on an automated sensory device prototype and had gotten stuck on it when he couldn’t make it work right. He’d decided to give his hands a break and do some reading and had stumbled on this article in one of the journals he had taken home from work. He’d found it brilliant and it got him thinking of chemical compounds in a way he hadn’t before and it led to a breakthrough on his prototype. He’d gotten caught up on his work and forgotten about the paper that had been his inspiration.

Fitz clicked back to Jemma Simmons’ dating profile and eagerly read through it. She was his age (twenty-five and two doctorate degrees? She was clearly no slouch in the intelligence department), she liked Doctor Who, and she liked to spend Friday nights at home reading articles with a glass of wine. She was exactly his type of woman. He was about to click on the option to message her when cold, hard reality hit him.

What would this perfect woman possibly see in him, Leopold Fitz?

He scrubbed a hand over his face and almost closed the browser. Instead he found himself scrolling through her photos again. She really was beautiful. And he had no idea what to say to her. _Hi, I’m stalking you on the Internet. Wanna go on a date?_

There was a reason he hasn’t been on a date in he can’t even remember how long. He was in no way a smooth ladies man.

He had a few friends at Harvard. Maybe he could make up an excuse to go over there and accidentally bump into Jemma…

Before he could get too far in his plan to physically stalk the poor woman, the messaging box on the dating site popped up.

Fitz blinked. He had a message from Jemma Simmons.

_Hi, Leo? My name is Jemma and we seem to be an excellent match according to this site._

_It’s Fitz. I prefer Fitz. And yeah, I reckon it seems so._

_Hmm…Are you British?_

_Scottish, actually. You?_

_English. You work at M.I.T?_

_Yeah. I work in the Engineering department but most of my research is in Applied Physics._

_Very interesting. I think we’d have a lot to talk about over coffee, don’t you?_

_Yeah, definitely. Would you like to meet up sometime?_

_There’s a coffee shop called Java Hut that’s three blocks away from Harvard. Would you like to meet there at 3pm on Sunday?_

_Sure. That sounds great._

_Kay. Can’t wait to see you, Fitz._

_You too, Jemma._

Fitz leaned back in his chair and grinned. He had a date with a beautiful and intelligent woman.

He suddenly straightened up and felt the panic clench tight around his chest. Good Lord, he had a date with a beautiful and intelligent woman.

 

~

 

Skye linked her fingers together and stretched her arms out, grinning in satisfaction. She had just successfully gotten her best friend and roommate, Jemma Simmons, a date with one Leo Fitz, or Fitz as he liked to be called. Now she just had to tell her.

“Hey Jemma,” Skye called over her shoulder.

Jemma looked up from where she was putting groceries away in the refrigerator.

“You remember when I told you that I would make you a dating profile?”

“I remember telling you not to make me a dating profile.”

“Well…I did.”

“What? Skye!” She came running over. Skye carefully angled her laptop screen out of Jemma’s line of sight. She held up her hands.

“Just hear me out.”

“I want you to delete that profile right now, Skye!”

“I will but first you have to listen to what I have to say and you have to do something for me.”

“Alright. But if I don’t like what I hear, you best keep Antoine out of the apartment for a few days because I just might slip something into his food that could affect his…performance…and make you both quite unhappy.”

Skye gasped and sat up straight, her laptop falling out of her lap and onto the couch. “You wouldn’t!”

Jemma crossed her arms. “Delete the profile, Skye.”

“Listen to me, Jemma,” she said, her voice hard.

Jemma gestured for her to go on.

Skye blew out a breath. “You haven’t been on a date in a really long time and I know that no one at the school really interests you. I just thought a dating profile might widen your reach a little. And it couldn’t hurt to go on a few dates. You’ve been so obsessed with work lately, you barely leave the lab.”

“I’m in the middle of a very important experiment-”

“You need to get a life outside of the lab, Jemma. And third wheeling with me and Trip doesn’t count. Not that we mind!” Skye added quickly when Jemma’s face fell. “We love having you go out with us. But you can’t hide away in your research forever. You’re young, you’re hot, you should be enjoying life!”

Jemma sat down on the couch. “I am enjoying my life, Skye. I enjoy my work very much and it’s a big part of my life.”

“It’s your whole life, sweetie.”

“Well, I doubt I’m going to find someone on a dating site.” She rolled her eyes.

Skye grinned. “I did find someone for you.”

“Skye!” Jemma protested.

“He’s a 99% match with you, he’s a super smart scientist guy at M.I.T, and he’s cute! Just look at his profile.”

Skye turned her laptop towards Jemma and showed her Fitz’s page. To her delight, a look of curiosity came over her best friend’s face as she read through Fitz’s information and looked at his pictures.

“He does seem interesting,” Jemma conceded. “If all of what he’s written here is even true.”

“You can find out when you have coffee with him on Sunday.”

“What?!”

“What?”

“You set me up on a date with a complete stranger? Skye! What if he’s some psychopath? An axe murderer that prays on women on the Internet?”

“First of all, it’s just coffee and it’s in a very public place. Second, I checked the guy out before I messaged him. He has a page on the M.I.T website, published papers, his pictures even match up with how he looks on the site. He looks legit but if it makes you feel better I can run a background check on him.”

Jemma took the laptop from Skye and opened up the tabs where she had researched Fitz. Skye watched her very carefully as Jemma read through Fitz’s biography and accomplishments. She saw her roommate’s eyes widen when she read through the list of the guy’s awards. She saw her bite her lip when she looked through his published papers. Skye tried to hide her grin.

“I suppose a cup of coffee can’t hurt…”

Skye hugged her. “Yes! Thank you. Who knows? You might have fun. From what I’ve read, this guy is basically a male you in terms of brain power. Maybe he’s your soulmate.”

Jemma scoffed. “You know I don’t believe in such things. But even if nothing romantic happens, it looks like he’ll be extremely interesting to talk to. His work on Quantum computers looks very promising.”

Skye rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s the nerd talk that excites you.”

 

~

 

Jemma stood outside of Java Hut and smoothed down her hair. She had no reason to be so nervous. It was a simple meeting. It would probably come to nothing, as most of her dates in the past had. If Jemma had learned anything in the dating game it was that if a guy looked to good to be true on paper then chances were, they were not all that they seemed. And this guy that Skye had found looked to be perfect for her. Jemma steeled herself for disappointment.

She spotted him almost immediately when she walked through the door, sitting at a table in the corner near the windows. He stood up and waved to her and Jemma made her way over.

“Hi. Fitz?”

He smiled and held out his hand. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

Jemma felt a jolt of electricity shoot down her spine as his larger hand engulfed hers. His eyes were so much bluer in person and she felt heat building low in her stomach.

Fitz released her hand and gestured to the seat across the table. They sat down and he glanced over to the counter.

“Would you, uh, like anything? I wanted to wait for you to order.”

“Oh, um. I always get a vanilla latte here.”

He nodded. “Coming right up. I’ll be right back.”

Jemma watched him walk up to the counter and flushed when she realized was staring at his (rather nice) back side. She forced herself to look away and clenched her hands into fists. Okay, she found him physically attractive. That didn’t have to mean anything. She finds many men (and many women) physically attractive. It didn’t mean she was always interested in dating them. It just meant that she could appreciate aesthetically pleasing people. And Fitz certainly had aesthetically pleasing features and a nice, slim build. Jemma had dated taller men in the past but she didn’t find his height unappealing. She found nothing about him unappealing so far.

Fitz came back to the table with two cups of coffee and carefully set hers down in front of her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“No problem. Thanks, uh…thanks for coming out today.”

“You’re Scottish,” she said in surprise. She really should have spotted that earlier.

“Yeah.” He looked confused. “I told you that when we were messaging each other.”

Jemma laughed nervously. “I should confess something. That was my roommate Skye that you talked to. She made my dating profile and found you.”

“Oh. Well…I’m sorry you got forced into this then.”

“No! No,” she rushed to correct him. The last thing Jemma wanted was to make him think she didn’t want to be here. “At first I didn’t want to do this. Not you, just dating in general. But Skye showed me your profile and we, uh, we looked at your page on the M.I.T website and found your papers. Physics and Engineering isn’t my expertise but I find your work fascinating.”

Fitz grinned. “I feel the same way about your work actually. I looked you up as well, spent most of yesterday reading your papers. The Chemistry stuff I can follow, I didn’t do too bad in it in undergrad and I took some courses in grad school as well. But most of the Molecular Biology and general Biology stuff goes over my head. That was never my strong subject.”

“Really? I love working with specimens. The human body is amazing and I love being part of research that could radically change medicine and save lives.”

“Yeah, saving lives is great. It’s just the blood and specimens that gets me.” He shuddered.

Jemma laughed. “Weak stomach, Dr. Fitz?”

He nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. “Not ashamed of it. I’d much rather be working with machines than skin and bones.”

“Speaking of machines…” Jemma leaned forward. “I was reading about your work on Quantum computers and I was wondering if you’ve made improvements on the model that came out of Caltech a year ago?”

Fitz smiled, his blue eyes sparkling. “Now you know I can’t speak about my ongoing research, Dr. Simmons. I haven’t published that paper yet and until I do, all of the details are top secret.”

Jemma pouted. She hated not gaining satisfaction when her curiosity was piqued.

“I am working on the final draft of my paper though and it should be published soon. You won’t have too long to wait. But I will tell you this. What I’m doing blows Caltech out of the water.”

“Really?” She breathed.

“Oh yeah.” He looked more than a little pleased with himself and Jemma found it to be a rather attractive look on him.

She cleared her throat. “Perhaps we should talk about something else then? I told you about Skye and now I’m curious, why did you join a dating site?”

Fitz grimaced. “It was because of my mum, actually.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your mum?”

“She’s always on my case about finding a girlfriend and I guess she was concerned that I haven’t been on a date in awhile so she sort of pushed me into finding a date. I just made a profile to get her off my back. I didn’t-I…” He looked down into his coffee cup. “I didn’t expect to find someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” She asked.

“Yeah. Someone so…so brilliant and b-beautiful.” He flushed and couldn’t meet her eyes, staring at a spot on the table instead.

“I didn’t expect to find someone like you either,” Jemma said softly.

Fitz finally looked up at her. “I’m glad we did this.”

“Me too.”

“I wanted to tell you…I hope this doesn’t sound weird but when I looked up your research the other night I realized that I had read one of your papers before. The one on neurotoxins? I read that six months ago when I was stuck on one of my prototypes and your paper gave me the breakthrough I needed to finish it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it got me thinking on the chemical compositions in a completely different way and it solved the problems I was having. I didn’t realize it at the time but you-you’re my muse, sort of. My science muse,” he laughed. “Though I suppose you’re more of a science goddess.”

Jemma felt her cheeks redden. That was honestly the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.

“Hey, would you like to see it? My prototype has become a cool model now and it’s over in the lab at school. I can take you there and show you. I-I mean, not right now,” he corrected quickly, as he seemed to realize what he was asking. “We don’t have to go right now. You can come by the campus whenever you’re free…if you’re interested.”

Jemma looked down at her still nearly full but now cold cup of coffee. She had gotten so caught up in their conversation that she had forgotten to drink it. She looked back up at Fitz and came to a decision. “Let’s go right now,” she said.

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Yes. Lead the way, Fitz.”

She had known him for barely an hour but right at that moment, Jemma was sure. She would follow this man anywhere.

 

~

 

They drove to M.I.T and on the way there Fitz wanted to reserve the work talk for the lab when he could show her what he was talking about. So instead they talked about their childhoods and families. Jemma learned that he had grown up with just his mum in Glasgow and he had felt incredibly guilty for leaving her alone when he came to the U.S. to study when he was seventeen. But five years ago she had met Richard and fallen madly in love. They had gotten married three years ago and Fitz was happy that she was happy. Jemma told him about her own family, her mum and dad, and confided how lonely her childhood had been, being put in accelerated classes didn’t give her an opportunity to make many friends.

“Do you ever think about going back?” Jemma asked as they walked across the parking lot. “To Glasgow?”

“I dunno. I’ve been here so long that going back would be less like going home than just starting anew.”

“It’s the same for me I suppose. I didn’t think it would happen but I feel quite settled here in America now.”

They reached the Engineering building and Fitz held open the door for her. Jemma looked around curiously as they walked through the large and well-lit lobby.

“I’ve been here on campus a few times,” she said. “But I’ve never gotten to see this building.”

“Yeah? I practically live here,” Fitz laughed.

“It’s the same for me and my lab. When Skye and I first started living together, she mistook me for being rather promiscuous because I spent so many nights not sleeping at home. But really I was just spending my nights in the lab while I ran some time sensitive experiments and simulations.”

They took the elevator to the third floor and came to a secure set of double doors. Fitz swiped a key card and pressed in a code then held the door open for Jemma.

She walked in and immediately smiled. There was probably no place in the world that she loved so much as laboratories. Fitz’s was quite different to her own. Instead of beakers and test tubes, animal specimens, and microscopes, the workspace was lined with computers and various tools and gadgets.

Fitz took her hand and enthusiastically led her to his work bench. Jemma tried not to think too much about the sparks of warmth radiating from her hand up her arm and how nice Fitz’s bigger, rougher hand felt against her own.

“Okay, what I’m going to show you is not exactly top secret since it’s an old project but you are technically from a competing school and I could get in a lot of trouble by bringing you in here outside of work hours and without clearance.”

“I swear I won’t tell anyone,” she assured him.

“Yeah, alright,” he smiled at her shyly and dropped her hand. He leaned down to open a cabinet and brought out a large black case, lifting it onto the bench.

“I finished these last year but I have an idea to make more.” He opened the case to reveal four small drones. He took them out and arranged them neatly in a line on the counter and then picked up a tablet. One of the drones powered up and flew towards Jemma. It stopped in front of her face, emitting a blue light. “That’s X13. Right now it’s reading all of your biometric and vital signs.”

The little drone completed its scan and flitted about Jemma’s head and she giggled as the power from the drone’s helicopter wings blew her hair around.

“Alright, leave the lady alone,” Fitz scolded. He brought the drone back to the table and powered the next one, launching into long explanations of what each drone did as he demonstrated each one.

Jemma was in rapture as she listened to Fitz’s explanations and asked the hundreds of questions flipping through her head.

“So you built each one of these?” She asked as Fitz carefully packed the drones away back in the case.

“With my bare hands,” he grinned.

“They look almost military grade,” Jemma said, nodding in approval.

Fitz rubbed the back of his neck. “The military might be showing an interest in them actually but I can’t say too much about that. I’d like to upgrade the hardware though and maybe get my hands on better material for the casing if they provide the funding.”

They walked out of the lab and Fitz carefully locked the door behind them.

“Maybe you should make more,” Jemma suggested. “There are so many functionalities that the four drones you have aren’t capable of yet and I don’t think you should try to pack them in. Maybe if you made two or three more, you could give each of them a specific focus, like X17 for auditory capabilities, X13 for visual data, and they can work symbiotically with one another. Kind of like…” she trailed off.

“Like what?” Fitz asked, holding open the front door of the building for her. The sun had set during their time in the lab and it had grown considerably colder. Jemma buttoned up her coat and stuffed her hands into her pockets as they walked across campus.

“You’re going to laugh,” she said.

Fitz turned to face her. “I swear I won’t,” he promised.

“I was just going to say that they kind of remind me of the dwarves in Snow White.”

Fitz’s mouth twitched and his eyes danced in amusement but to his credit he didn’t laugh, even though it looked like he desperately wanted to. Jemma slapped his arm.

“You promised!” She reminded him.

“I’m not laughing!” He protested. “Please go on.”

“The dwarves each have their own defining characteristic, right? So I thought that maybe the drones could each have their own task or specialty that defines them. They could be sent out separately if needed but the data they each gather could be combined together-”

“To achieve the best results,” Fitz finished. “Yeah! Yeah…I like that idea.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, it’s bloody brilliant, Jemma. I’d have to make them a little smaller though so that seven of them flying about aren’t a nuisance or a distraction but it’s definitely doable.”

They reached his car and he opened the passenger side door for her.

“Where were you a year ago?” Fitz asked as he started the engine. “I could have used you as a partner.”

Jemma beamed. “Well, maybe if you had gone to work at Harvard, the clearly superior University…”

“Ho! Be careful what you say on enemy territory, Dr. Simmons,” he warned. “You don’t want to go down that road.”

“Don’t I?” She grinned.

He glanced at her smiled as he took the turn to exit the campus.

“So, uh, I guess I should take you home…” He said uncertainly.

“Oh yes,” Jemma said, trying to hide her disappointment. She didn’t want the day to end. She couldn’t remember the last time she had had so much fun. It was hard to believe that she had only known Fitz for a few hours. He was the easiest person to talk to, it felt like she could have known him for a decade.

“It’s almost eight,” Fitz said. “I don’t know about you but I’m kind of starving.”

“I could eat.” Jemma brightened.

“Great! Uh, I know this Chinese place just a few blocks from here that’s really good if you’re in the mood for that.”

“Sounds wonderful.”

Fitz grinned at her, the yellow light from the streetlight outside illuminating his face and deepening the blue of his eyes. Jemma’s stomach flipped, warmth spreading low in her belly. She knew without a doubt that she was already in deep, and she didn’t want to get out.

 

~

 

Fitz was having the best day that he could ever remember having in a very long time. And this was certainly the best date that he had ever had in his life.

They had talked all through dinner, Jemma teasing him mercilessly about how much food he can pack away when he finished the family sized order of fried rice that they shared.

Fitz’s personality could be described as prickly at best and he didn’t have the easiest of times getting along with new people but Jemma…Jemma was unlike anyone Fitz had ever known. She was so easy to talk to. She was just so intelligent, almost frighteningly so. She could keep up with him in a way that no one else that Fitz had ever encountered in his entire academic career could. Most of the time he felt like he had to keep up with her and it was a refreshing challenge. She also understood him in a way that no one else did, like he didn’t have to explain himself in a way that everyone else expected him to. She picked up on his thought process and she just _knew_.

He felt so comfortable with Jemma but she also made him incredibly nervous, especially when they were standing right outside the door to her apartment and she was looking up at him with those big brown eyes.

Fitz didn’t know what to do. Should he kiss her? God, he wanted to kiss her. But this was only their first date and he didn’t want to overwhelm her or make her think he was expecting too much. He hesitated for a minute too long and Jemma fiddled with the keys in her hands, the silence between them stretching out.

He cleared his throat. “Good-goodnight then.”

He thought he saw a flash of disappointment in Jemma’s eyes but it was gone so quickly that it must have been his imagination. She smiled up at him.

“Goodnight, Fitz. I had a really good time today.”

“Me too. Maybe we can hang out again?”

“Oh yes! I mean, yes, that would be lovely.”

“Okay, great. Can I…” He took out his mobile. “Can I get your number?”

Jemma dug in her purse and took out her own mobile and they quickly exchanged numbers. Fitz’s heart felt like it swelled to twice its size when he typed in Jemma’s name.

“So, I’ll um, call you,” Fitz said.

“Yes, please do.” Jemma smiled and then leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Goodnight Fitz.”

She opened the door to her apartment and closed it behind her, giving him one last smile. Fitz just stood there, not quite believing what had just happened. He lifted a hand up to his cheek, feeling dazed. His skin still tingled from the touch of her soft lips.

He slowly walked back to his car, a grin spread across his face. He wondered how soon would be too soon to call Jemma.

 

~

 

Jemma pressed her back to the door and sighed happily.

“I take it the date went well?”

Jemma jumped, turning to see Skye sitting at the kitchen counter with a bowl of strawberries.

“Skye! You scared me!”

“Well, you would have seen me if you weren’t blinded by those hearts in your eyes,” she laughed.

Jemma walked over to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh. Look at that smile! You can’t wipe it off your face.”

Jemma made an effort to stop smiling, she really did, but she could feel the grin stretching out her cheeks no matter what she did. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so light and happy. She felt like she could float to the ceiling.

“Jemma Simmons, look at you,” Skye said. “Come over here and tell me what the hell happened on that date.”

She patted the seat next to her and Jemma obediently took a seat, swiping a strawberry from the bowl.

“We had coffee, he took me to his lab at M.I.T and showed me his prototype, and then we had dinner. That’s all.”

“He showed you his ‘prototype’, huh?” Skye smirked. “Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

“Skye!” Jemma blushed. “It wasn’t like that. He showed me a project that he was working on, it was really fascinating.”

Skye groaned. “Don’t tell me all you guys did all day was talk about work.”

“We talked about a lot of things. I had a wonderful time with Fitz.”

“You’re welcome. See, I told you this date was a good idea.”

Jemma hugged her. “Yes, thank you, Skye. This was the best idea you’ve ever had!”

“Whoa whoa. I’m really happy for you, Jemma. But you’re kind of freaking me out. You just met this guy. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“Like what?”

“So…happy. It’s like you’re in love already.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Skye. I just like him.”

Skye didn’t look convinced. “Okay. Just…try not to move too fast, okay? And maybe let me meet this wonderful guy of yours.”

Jemma rolled her eyes. “Alright, mom. I’m gonna have a shower.”

She hummed to herself as she walked into her room and was just pulling out her pajamas when her phone rang from inside her purse.

Jemma eagerly pulled it out and felt her heart stutter when she saw Fitz’s name on the screen.

“Hello,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too breathless.

“Hi,” he said, chuckling slightly. “I know this is probably too soon to call…”

“No no,” Jemma sat down on her bed and leaned back against the pillows. “I’m glad to hear from you.”

“Yeah? Uh, I was just reading one of your papers and I had a question…”

 

~

 

“What’s up with you?”

Fitz looked up from the text that Jemma had sent him about a really funny incident that she had gotten into at her lab. “What?”

“That phone is practically glued to your hand,” Mack said. “And you’ve been smiling so much that it’s been freaking the grad students out. Hell, it’s freaking me out.”

Fitz put the phone aside and attempted to go back to his work.

“It’s nothing.”

Mack laughed. “Nothing. Alright, does ‘nothing’ have a name?”

Fitz started to deny it but realized that there really was no point, and he didn’t really want to.

“Jemma,” he said. “She’s a Biochemist at Harvard.”

Mack raised an eyebrow, probably surprised that Fitz was so forthcoming. Fitz wasn’t exactly known for being chatty about his personal life. Mostly because he didn’t really have much of one to chat about but people didn’t need to know that.

“Harvard, huh?” Mack grinned. “Might not want that getting around. Hunter will say you’re sleeping with the enemy.”

Fitz snorted. “He’s one to talk.”

Hunter’s ex-wife had been Harvard through and through, undergrad and post-grad. She only left the school after the divorce when she accepted a teaching position at Oxford, presumably to get as far away from Hunter as possible.

“So you guys are dating? Is that where you’ve been disappearing to every night this week?”

Fitz paused. Was dating the term for what they were doing? They had seen each other everyday of the week so far but he didn’t know if they could be technically termed dates.

The day after their first date and a rather long phone conversation about Jemma’s research, Jemma had invited him to her lab to ‘return the favor’ of him showing her his lab. Fitz found Jemma’s work to be brilliant in theory and fascinating to read but seeing her specimens in the lab was not his favorite thing, if he was being honest. Still, he managed to feign enthusiasm and hide his gagging when Jemma showed him particularly gross animal parts and vials of blood. The day after that they had gone to a museum, the day after they’d seen a movie. And so it was a series of outings with a girl who Fitz was sure he was falling for harder and harder the more time he spent with her. And it was great, he enjoyed every minute he spent with Jemma but he was aware that they weren’t exactly progressing romantically. They still hadn’t kissed yet and Fitz was scared that he’d missed his chance, that maybe Jemma only saw him as a friend now and any romantic gesture on his part would just screw up whatever it was they were now building. Not for the first time, he deeply regretted not kissing her outside of her door that first night.

“We’ve been hanging out,” he told Mack.

“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Mack smirked.

The piece of a hard casing that Fitz had been screwing slipped out of his hand. “No! I-it’s not like that. Jemma-she…we’re friends.”

Mack looked at him, watching him for a few moments and then sighed heavily. He put down his own work and walked over to Fitz’s bench. “Turbo, my man. You’re an idiot.”

“What?”

“You really haven’t seen yourself this week, have you? You’ve been smiling all the time, you’ve been talking to people, and you’ve been finishing your work in record time. I’ve known you, what? Three years and I’ve never seen you this happy. Look, I don’t know this girl at all but if she can make you smile like that…that’s not something you find everyday. Are you going to do something about your feelings for her? Or are you going to let her slip away because you’re too damn scared?”

Fitz looked at Mack with his mouth hanging open.

“Don’t look at me like that, Turbo. I’ve been Hunter’s marriage and divorce counselor for too damn long.”

“Right. Yeah.” Fitz stood up and started packing his tools away. “I’m gonna…I’ve gotta-”

He picked up his bag and looked up at Mack, who only smiled at him. “Go get her, Turbo.”

 

~

 

Jemma smiled as the simulation running in front of her counted down to zero. This meant that she was done with her work a full forty-five minutes early. She quickly packed up all of her things and pulled out her phone. She felt a bit disappointed to not see a text waiting from Fitz but shrugged it off, figuring that she could call him once she got home.

She shouldered her bag and called out a goodbye to the few people still working in the lab. It was Friday and she knew that Skye had plans tonight, perhaps she could have Fitz over and since she was out early, she’d even have time to cook dinner. She was just doing a mental inventory of her fridge and debating whether or not to stop by the grocery store when she saw Fitz himself standing beside her car. He was pacing back and forth and seemed to be muttering to himself.

“Fitz,” she said, not able to stop the feeling of happiness bubbling in her chest just at the sight of him. “What are you doing?”

He looked up at her, a determined set to his jaw. Jemma had barely processed the surprise of his presence before he was striding over to her and taking her in his arms. His mouth pressed against hers and Jemma’s mind went completely, blissfully blank. All she could feel was his lips moving against hers, one hand cupped her cheek while the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against his body. Jemma wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burrowing her hands into his hair as she deepened the kiss.

Jemma had been kissed before but she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had never been kissed like this. This kiss she could feel from very top of her head down to the tips of her toes. This kiss that made fire burn in her blood, heating her from the inside out and making her feel like she could never ever get enough of Fitz’s touch, the press of his body against hers. Jemma knew right then that this was it. Fitz was the only person she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life.

He pulled away only when oxygen was becoming a serious issue, both of them panting hard.

“Hi,” he breathed.

“Hi.”

“I’ve wanted to do that since the first day we met,” he told her.

“I’ve been wanting you to that since the first day we met.”

He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Can I take you out tonight?”

“No.”

His face fell and Jemma kissed him, not being able to stand even a single second of that sad puppy face.

“You can take me home right now,” she said against his lips.

“Oh.” He nodded vigorously. “Yeah…yeah. Okay.”

“Fitz.” She grinned, pulling away and feeling his grip on her waist tighten, like he couldn’t stand putting even a few inches of space between them. “We have to move to go home.”

He reluctantly let her go and took a step back. Jemma had to bite her lip and stop herself from jumping onto him as she took in his deliciously disheveled appearance. The collar of his shirt was rumpled, the back of his hair stood up in tufts on his head, and his eyes were still dazed.

“Follow me home,” she ordered. Fitz nodded.

 

~

 

Fitz woke up slowly, feeling entirely too warm and comfortable. He opened his eyes, reluctant to wake up until he caught sight of Jemma lying next to him and a grin lit up his face. She was sleeping peacefully, her head sharing his pillow and her arm strewn across his chest. Fitz had never been much of a morning person but he could see mornings becoming his favorite part of the day if he could wake up to this sight every day for the rest of his life.

He would love to lie there until Jemma woke up, simply relishing being in her presence, but his bladder had other ideas. Fitz tucked her hair behind her ear and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead before carefully lifting up her arm and slipping out of the bed. It took him a few minutes to find his underwear and shirt, both items having been discarded so quickly and carelessly the night before.

He padded down to the bathroom down the hall to quickly relieve his bladder. He was about to head back to Jemma’s room when the door to his left opened and her roommate stepped out.

She raised her eyebrows at the sight of him. “You must be Dr. Fitz,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “We finally meet.”

“Uh, just Fitz, please.” He scratched at the back of his neck, not feeling entirely comfortable under her gaze.

“I’m Skye.”

He nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

“I take it Jemma’s still asleep?”

“Yeah, she is. I was just, uh…”

“Not trying to bail?”

“No!” He said vehemently, aghast that she would even suggest such a thing. “I just had to use the bathroom. And I wouldn’t try to sneak out without trousers on, that’s ridiculous.”

Skye grinned. “Yeah, I figured. Relax Fitz, I’m just messing with you. You want some coffee?”

“Um…” He looked back at Jemma’s door. On the one hand, he wanted to get back to Jemma as quickly as possible and to be there beside her when she wakes up. Fitz certainly didn’t want her to think, for even a second, that he had bailed. On the other hand, Jemma talked a lot about Skye and Fitz knew that she was the best friend that Jemma had. He wanted to make a good impression on her.

Skye seemed to sense his internal dilemma. “I already have a pot brewed,” she told him. “Come get a cup and you can bring it with you.”

He smiled gratefully and followed her to the kitchen. Skye pulled down two mugs from the cupboard beside the fridge and poured coffee into them.

“There’s milk or creamer in the fridge,” she said over her shoulder. “Whichever is your preference.”

Fitz took out the milk and accepted the mug Skye gave him, along with the jar of sugar she pushed across the counter. He made up his coffee to his specifications and took a quick sip.

“That is a lot of sugar to put in one cup,” Skye observed.

“Yeah, I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth.”

“Hmm.”

Fitz held the mug in his hands, feeling awkward just standing there but not knowing what kind of small talk he could make with Jemma’s roommate. He’d never been very good at small talk. His eyes darted to the teakettle on the stove.

“You can go back to Jemma,” Skye said. “Don’t feel obligated to stand around here with me.”

“No, uh, I was just wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I made a cup of tea? To bring to Jemma.”

Skye’s eyes softened. “Go ahead. Make yourself at home, Fitz. I have a feeling I’ll probably be seeing a lot of you around here. Just…don’t hurt her. She really likes you.”

Fitz held her gaze and tried to convey in his eyes and tone just how serious he was. “I wouldn’t dream of it. I really like her too. A lot.”

A few minutes later Fitz had a cup of tea made exactly to Jemma’s specifications. He took the two mugs and was about to walk back to Jemma’s room when he turned back to face Skye.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?”

“I know that you made Jemma’s dating profile and that it was you that contacted me. Just…thank you for bringing her into my life.”

Skye grinned. “Make her happy, Fitz. That’s how you can thank me.”

He nodded. “I’ll do my best, for as long as she’ll let me.”

 

~

 

“Did you do what we agreed on?”

Fitz tried not to roll his eyes. Of course those would be the first words out of his mother’s mouth.

“I did, mum.”

She looked at him expectantly. “And?”

Fitz waved Jemma over and she came around to his side of the desk, bending down so she could be in frame on his laptop screen.

“Mum, this is Jemma.”

“Hello, Mrs. Fitz.” She waved. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

His mum looked to be half in shock, half in rapture. For a minute Fitz was genuinely concerned that she might have a heart attack.

“H-hello!”

Jemma pushed at his shoulder to get him to move over and she squeezed in beside him on his chair.

“So, Jemma’s my girlfriend,” Fitz said.

His mum put a hand to her chest and leaned in closer to the screen. “Well, she’s just gorgeous!”

“Note the tone of disbelief,” he said to Jemma and she giggled.

“You’re not having me on, are you?” His mum asked. “Leopold Fitz, did you hire this girl to pretend to be your girlfriend?”

“Mum!”

Jemma doubled over in laughter.

“Mum, I would do no such thing!”

Jemma composed herself and wrapped her arms around Fitz. He automatically put his arm around her shoulders to make it easier for her to snuggle into him.

“I am absolutely, one hundred percent your son’s girlfriend, Mrs. Fitz,” Jemma assured her. “And completely happy to be.”

“Well, that’s good.” A grin slowly spread across his mum’s face and Fitz could see her practically melting at the sight of them. “That’s really good. And, please sweetheart, call me Eleanor.”

Jemma smiled. “Okay, Eleanor.”

“Now tell me how you two met. I want to hear everything!”


End file.
